Plastic fastener



March 9, 1965 s. AUsNlT PLASTIC FASTENER Filed Feb. 19, 1962 INVENTOR. Sie V672 Hasn BY fr Q^ f' TT( )RNE Y S United States Patent C 3,172,443 PLASTIC FASTENER Steven Ausnit, 525 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. Filed Feb. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 173,940 11 Claims. (Cl. 150-3) The present invention relates to an improved pouch or bag and a flexible closure therefor and particularly to a closure having exible reclosable strips with rel leasable pressure interlocking elements thereon with the strips being reliably and surely held closed until the time of use.

The invention particularly contemplates the provision of closure strips for use with various types of pouches or bags such as those utilized for packaging merchandise marketed in stores. The reclosable pouches are particularly desirable for this use since they can be reused either with the commodity within the pouch, or for additional purposes thus extending their usefulness. The type of closure strip well suited for this type of pouch is one which has releasably interlocking rib and groove elements extending therealong which lock together when an external pressure is applied to the strips, and which release when they are forcibly pulled apart. However, this type of closure permits preliminary opening and possible tampering with the contents. For example, in a retail store, containers of types heretofore provided could be opened and the contents removed in part or the contents could be contaminated or foreign elements placed in the container.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide lan improved pouch or bag having flexible closure strips which are held together by frangible connectors that prevent the strips from inadvertently being separated and the pouch opened, and which insure that the interlocking elements will remain locked even with rough usage and handling and during transporting or stacking.

Another object of the invention is to provide frangible connectors for reclosable interlocking closure strips which makes it possible to immediately discern from outward appearance whether or not the connectors have been broken and whether access to the pouch has been obtained.

A still further object of the invention is to provide closure strips with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon and with frangible connectors that hold the interlocking elements together and that include spaced integral connector areas which permit free separation of the layers of the strips between the connector areas.

A still further object of the invention is to provide releasable pressure interlocking closure strips having connector means that hold the strips together but which are relatively easily separated and broken for access to the opening closed by the strips.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved closure strip structure and method of making the same which can be extruded in a single pass through one die opening, and to provide an improved die arrangement for making the strip.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of making a frangible connection between thermoplastic closure strips with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon.

Other objects, advantages and features will become more apparent with the teaching of the principles of the invention in connection with the disclosure of the preferred embodiments thereof in the specification, claims and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a pouch with a Vertical section taken therethrough, having fastener strips 3i,l572,443 Patented Mar. 9, 1965 "ice and constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the upper corner of a closure constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line III-III of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view with a vertical section taken therethrough showing a method of making a O frangible closure in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational View of a die for forming a one-piece closure;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view with a vertical section taken therethrough showing another method of making a frangible closure; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line VII-VII of FIGURE 6.

As shown on the drawings:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a pouch 10 having walls 11 and 12 to provide a pouch enclosure. The walls are shown as suitably joined such as by a seam 13 at their edges ,and have an opening defined between upper edges 14 and 15 of the walls.

Suitably connected at the pouch opening are closure strips 16 and 17. The closure strips have web portions 13 and 19 respectively which are attached such as by heat sealing or an adhesive to the edges 14 and 15 of the pouch walls. It will of course be understood that the fastener strips may be made integral with the pouch in certain constructions.

The closure strips 16 and 17 are made of a plastic material and the pouch may be made of the same material. Preferably a thermoplastic synthetic resin material is used, such as polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, halogenated polyethylenes, polyvinyl acetate and polyethylene, and copolymers, heteropolyrners and mixtures thereof. Of particular importance for manufacture of the closure strips and/ or the container are the vinyl type resins such as polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride-polyvinyl acetate copolymers, and similar vinyl resins, and polyethylene. Rubber, either natural or synthetic, is not a preferred material since, in the case of rubber, it is more diicult to control the degree of rigidity for interlocking engagement between the strips 16 and 17. However, by proper compounding and Vulcanizing the rubber, the degree of rigidity can be controlled to m-ake rubber acceptable for purposes of the instant invention.

Attached to 'the web portions 1S and 19 are somewhat thicker portions which may be referred to as marginal portions 20 and 21. The marginal portion 21 extends from and is generally parallel to the web portion 1.9. The marginal portion 20 is hinged to the web portion 18 by being attached thereto by a hinge portion 22. The hinge portion is shown attached to the top of the marginal l portion 20 but also may be attached at a lower location,

and it will be understood that the connections between the marginal and web portions may be varied in structure and are not of limiting signicance with respect to the remaining structure of the invention.

The marginal portions carry releasable pressure interlocking elements which are shown in 'the form of hookshaped ribs 23 and hook-shaped grooves 24. The ribs 23 are shown formed on the marginal portion 20, and the grooves 24 are formed at the base of the ribs. The marginal portion 21 has the same structure on its confronting face to cooperatively receive and interlock with the marginal portion 20.

In normal operation after the pouch has lirst been opened, it can be reclosed and then reused, and is reopened by peeling apart the flanges 25 and 26 which then draw apart the marginal portions which in turn pull the rib elements 23 out of mating groove elements. The strips are relocked by applying a pressure to force the marginal portions together and the flexible ribs will enter and interlockl into the iiexible grooves.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, the pouch remains closed until its iirst use and the marginal portions are held interlocked by frangible connectors; Y The frangible connectors are shown in FIGURES llthrough 4 as formed between edge portions or flanges 25 and-26 which extend outwardly of the marginal portions 2i) 'and 21. The ii'anges may be of different length i face of the flange at spaced locations to fuse the ther- Y moplastic material of the iianges 25 and 26, which are supported on a block 3d.

v The spaced connectors 27 are thus arranged in a linearlyextending row postioned at spaced intervals and integrally joining the flanges. The connectors form joining means which are fran'gible or brealtable and can be broken by forcibly drawing the iianges apart in the manner 'shown in FIGURE 2.

The connectors 27 are at spaced locations with the layers being separated a't areas 28 therebetween, as shown in FIGURE 3. This permits the tianges 25 and 26 to be forcibly separated without undue eort, and yet the connectors hold the closure strips 16 and 17 together during all handling of the `pouch prior to its use or sale.

An important feature ofthis arrangement is that the l previous breaking or separation of the closure strips can be immediately visibly detected from outside of the bag tently broken open, or has .been wrongfully opened, this can easilybe visibly detected with a minimum of effort. Further, the rib and groove elements are protected and are Anot normallyrinadvertently separated. Very small particles and outside air are prevented from freely entering the pouch due to the 'rib and groove areas being joined. t FIGURES Svthrough 7 illustrate another arrangement for 'forming the frangible protective` attachment between the closure strips. As shown in FiGURE 6, closure strips 31 and 32 have web portions 33 and 34 with marginal portions 36 and 37. The web portion 33 is directly connectedfto the marginal portion 36, and the web portion 34 is connected to the marginal portion 3'7 by a hinge portion V35. Y

At the upper edge `ofthe marginal portions are flanges 38 'and 39 which are joined to each other along a longitudinally extendingy seam 40. This seam 40 can be formed yin dilferent ways, and will be formed integral wit-h the 'flanges during the manufacture of the closure strips if extruded in acordance with the arrangement shown inFIGURE 5. It is also possible to make the strips separately, and form theseam 4i) at a later time b'y running a` heated seam forming element along the upper flange 39, joining it to the lower flange 38.

The seam is perforated at intervals along its length yto form openings 41. These openings are of a size so that `they are Wider than the width of the seam, or at least d Y The closure strips are; formed in a single elongated unit strip With the die S3 of FIGURE 5; VThe die has an elongated opening with end portions 44 andV 45 which provide web portions -for two strips. Inwardly thereof in the die opening are portions 46 and 47 which form marginal vportions of theV two strips. ,p Inwardly thereof are portions te and i9 which form anges that join at their inner edges Sti.'V At this edge juncture are'ilange extensions 51 and 52 which extend lradially from the juncture Sii. f Y

The strips 31 and 32 of FIGURE 6 can be extruded in a single passth'rough the die opening and foldedat in the form shown in FIGURE V6. The holes 41 may then, be punched through the seam by a punch 54 which enters a punch opening 56 in a supporting Yblock 55.

In summary, with reference to FIGURE 1, the invention providesjfor a pair of closure strips 16 and 17 which have releasable vand reclosable pressure interlocking elements 23 and24 thereon for.V reusing the pouch 10. The interlocking elements areV held together untilthe pouch is to be used by frangible .spaced connectors 27 joining the flanges 25 and 2.6. Y r

It will be understood that the spaced connectors'27 may be positioned at different locations to interconnect the strips untilbrolgen.V Spaced connectors with unconnected areas therebetween are, advantageous for various reasons including their facilitating ease ,of separation of the iianges.Y It will be observed that the areas of the seam 4i), FIGURE 6, betweenthe perfora'tions 41 act as spaced connectors. Y y Y Y Where the frangible connectors arev positioned between flanges which extend upwardly, or -in other words outwardly Vfrom the marginal portions k20 and 21, a preferred structure existsin that it can immediately be discerned whether or 'not the strips have'been separated, such as by uncuthorized individuals. In some instances, these flanges may be attached by a continuous attaching means winch atfordsthe advantage lofV also being able to see when the flangeshav'e been Separated, without iirst Vhaving to separate the interlocking rib andgroove elements, lbut the separated Yfrangible joining areas are the preferred structure'. i The flanges can be of a diierent length than shown and the frangible connecting spots may be very close to the marginal portions and to the ribY and groove elements. Also, in some instancesspaced breakable con-Y nector spotsj may be. positioned below the marginalV portions, attached 'to Vthe web portionsl but the illustrated ariangermentsV are preferred because'of theadditional advantages obtained. 'Y Y Y Y Thus it will be seen that VI have provided an improved pouch and closure therefor which meets the objectives, advantages land features above'set forth, which is reliable in use and operation, Vwhich 'is'inexpensive to construct, and ywhich has elements jthatv do not-interfere with the normal advantageous operation of the closure strips.

The vdrawings and specifications presenta detailed disclosure of thepreferred embodiments of the invention, and it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific forms disclosed, `but covers all modifications, changes and alternative constructions and methods rallingwithin the scope 4of the principlesftaught bythel invention. Y Y

I claim as my invention: I 1. A exible closure comprising, Y

facing flexible closure strips,`

each having Va web portion for supporting the strips on a pouch, j 'each `having, a marginal portion with` relea'sable Y pressure interlocking elements thereon, and each having an edge portion outwardly of Y the marginalportion, v and means joining said edge portions so that the edge portions4 willhold the interlocking elements together until said joining means is separated to separateV said edge portions. Y Y Y 2. A flexible closure comprising, facing iiexible closure strips,

each having a web portion for supporting the strips on a pouch, and each having ka marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon, and separate frangible means preventing separation of the interlocking elements from a position outwardly of the marginal portions. 3. A flexible closure comprising, first and second flexible closure strips,

each having a web portion for supporting the strips, and each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon, and frangible spaced connectors at spaced locations joining said strips preventing separation of the strips until broken. 4. A iieXible closure comprising, a pair of flexible closure strips,

each having a web portion for supporting the strips on a pouch, and each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon, said strips releasably interconnected at spaced 1ocations therealong and being free of joining interconnection between said locations. 5. A reclosable pouch structure comprising, pouch walls forming a pouch enclosure having edges defining an opening, closure strips on said edges,

each having a web portion joining the edges of the pouch walls, and each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon, and frangible spaced connectors at spaced locations joining said strips preventing separation of the strips until broken. 6. A reclosable pouch structure comprising, pouch Walls forming a pouch enclosure having edges dening an opening, closure strips on said edges,

each having a web portion joined with a pouch wall, each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon, and each having an edge portion outwardly of the marginal portion, and means joining said edge portions so that the edge portions will hold the interlocking elements together until said joining means is separated to separate said edge portions. 7. A iiexible closure comprising, facing exible closure strips,

each having a web portion for supporting the strips on a pouch, each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon, and each having a flange outwardly of the marginal portion, and spaced joined areas of material integral with said flanges breakable to permit separation of the strips with said ange surfaces being unjoined between said joined areas. 8. A exible closure comprising, facing ilexible closure strips,

each having a web portion for supporting the strips on a pouch, each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon,

6 and each having a ange outwardly of the marginal portion, and a longitudinal seam joining the facing surfaces of Isaid iianges,

said ilanges having openings of a size extending past the edge of the seam adjacent the marginal portion so that the flanges can be separated at the side of said openings. 9. A iiexible closure comprising, facing iiexible closure strips,

each having a web portion for supporting the strips on a pouch, each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure yinterlocking elements thereon, and each having a iiange outwardly of the marginal portion, and a longitudinal seam joining the facing surfaces of said flanges,

said ilanges having spaced openings formed through the seam for facilitating separation of the iianges. 10. A ilexible closure comprising, facing exible closure strips,

each having a web portion for supporting the strips on a pouch, and each having a marginal portion with releasable pressure interlocking elements thereon, and a longitudinal seam joining said strips,

said seam having openings extending therethrough at spaced intervals for facilitating the separating of the seam. 11. A closure strip structure comprising a strip element being integral and of one piece and extending substantially in a plane and having,

a pair of web portions at the extreme edges of the strip element adapted for attachment to a bag wall, marginal portions connected to the web portions inwardly thereof and shaped to form pressure interlocking elements thereon facing in the same lateral direction relative to the strip element, iiange portions inwardly of the marginal portions joined to each other at a common inner edge so that the location where said iiange portions are joined to each other is outwardly of the interlocking elements when attached to a bag, and separate ange extensions each projecting in the same lateral direction relative to the strip element outwardly from said common inner edge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,780,267 2/57 SVec et al. 150--3 2,801,948 8/57 Walker 156-66 2,802,237 8/57 Davis 18--12 2,803,041 8/57 Hill et al. 18-12 2,871,539 2/59 Sivan 24-201.3 2,978,769 4/61 Harrah 24-201.3 3,001,904 9/61 Porepp 156--66 3,011,690 12/61 Gabuzda 229-62 3,014,638 12/61 Farley 229--62 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

EARLE I. DRUMMOND, Examiner. 

1. A FLEXIBLE CLOSURE COMPRISING, FACING FLEXIBLE CLOSURE STRIPS, EACH HAVING A WEB PORTION FOR SUPPORTING THE STRIPS ON A POUCH, EACH HAVING A MARGINAL PORTION WITH RELEASABLE PRESSURE INTERLOCKING ELEMENTS THEREON, AND EACH HAVING AN EDGE PORTION OUTWARDLY OF THE MARGINAL PORTION, AND MEANS JOINING SAID EDGE PORTIONS SO THAT THE EDGE PORTIONS WILL HOLD THE INTERLOCKING ELEMENTS TOGETHER UNTIL AND JOINING MEANS IS SEPARATED TO SEPARATE SAID EDGE PORTIONS. 